ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Electronics & IT
“Saare Jahaan se Aachaa, Digital India Hamara”, says Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Startups and unicorns are the new drivers of India’s digital economy
Digital India is ‘Catalyzing New India’s Techade’
Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar today said that the Government’s Digital India initiatives have brought in a seismic transformation in the economic landscape of the country, by creating more opportunities and putting the youth in the driver’s seat of the Indian digital economy.
“Saare Jahaan se Aachaa, Digital India Hamara. The world too has now come to realise India’s entrepreneurial power and many countries have evinced interest for collaborations with our home-grown startups and unicorns,” he said while addressing the Plenary session of the StartUps Conference at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, where the Digital India Week celebrations were kickstarted yesterday.
Minister of Electronics & IT, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw and several other dignitaries were present at the event.
Several Founders/Co founders of startups & Unicorns, including women, were also present on the dais. Many of these entrepreneurs including Ghazal Alagh, founder Mama earth, Varun Khaitan, Co founder, Urban Company, Rohan verma, CEO MapmyIndia, Srinath Ramakrishnan, Co founder, Zeitwerk, Anil Sharma, TCS, Head corporate incubation, Sonia Swaroop Choksi, Co founder & CEO, shared their experiences about how they have been able to reap benefits of the digital solutions that the Digital India programme has brought in.
Referring to his recent UK visit, Mr Chandrasekhar said he had met UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and several other Ministers of his cabinet, along with a delegation of Indian 50 startups and unicorns and discussed avenues for collaborations and partnerships.
“Our success and capabilities range from the India Stack, UPI, Internet Consumer Tech, Electronics and Semiconductors, Web 3.0, Industry 4.0, AI, and High Performance Computing. These capabilities of leadership and entrepreneurship are increasingly defining New India,” he said.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had on Monday evening inaugurated the Digital India Week 2022, whose theme is ‘Catalyzing New India’s Techade’ in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. During the programme, he also launched several Digital India initiatives, namely, India Stack: indiastack.global, MyScheme: Service Discovery Platform, MeriPehchaan: National Single Sign On , Digital India Bhashini: Bhasha Daan, Digital India GENESIS and unveiled an eBook ‘Catalyzing New India’s Techade’. The first cohort of 30 institutions supported under the Chips to Startup  Programme was also announced.
Shri Modi also visited the Digital Mela that showcased over 200 stalls on digital solutions and emerging technologies. Around 1,500 beneficiaries of Digital India initiatives from across the country participated in the event. Some of the beneficiaries got the opportunity to interact and share their experiences with the Prime Minister.
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Ministry of Defence
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh & US Defence Secretary Dr Mark T Esper review bilateral defence co-operation;
Call for open communication and mutual support to overcome COVID-19
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with his United States counterpart Secretary of Defence Dr Mark T Esper this evening. The two Defence Ministers reviewed the progress in bilateral and multilateral defence co-operation and agreed to expand military-to-military engagements and defence trade & industry as part of India-US comprehensive global strategic partnership.
The two Ministers exchanged views on the grave situation arising out of COVID-19 and expressed confidence that through open communication and mutual support, the world can overcome the pandemic. Both the Ministers agreed to remain in touch during this trying period. Raksha Mantri briefed Secretary Esper about Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s initiative to coordinate COVID-19 relief efforts in South Asia. He invited Secretary Esper to visit India at the earliest convenient date.
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Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
Shri Thaawarchand Gehlot to inaugurate Composite Regional Centre for persons with disabilities in Ranchi tomorrow through Video Conferencing
The Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Dr. Thaawarchand Gehlot will inaugurate Composite Regional Centre , located inside Namkum Block Office, Khijri, Ranchi on 17.6.2020 through video conferencing amid COVID 19 pandemic. The Minister of Tribal Affairs, Shri Arjun Munda; Minister for Labours, Government of Jharkhand, Shri Satyanand Bhogta; Member of Parliament, Ranchi, Shri Sanjay Seth; Secretary DEPwD, Ms. Shakuntala D. Gamlin; Joint Secretary, DEPwD Dr. Prabodh Seth and MLA, Khijri, Ranchi, Shri Rajesh Kachhap will attend the inaugural function through video conferencing.
After the inauguration CRC-Ranchi, will become functional and will provide rehabilitation services including Physical medicine, Physiotherpay, Occupational therapy, Audiology and Speech Therapy, Psychology, Prosthetics & Orthotics, Special Education, Early intervention & treatment etc., to persons with disabilities in the state of Jharkhand and adjoining areas. The centre will also implement various schemes of Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities including skill development programme for PwDs and will contribute towards the vision of “Sabkaa Saath, Sabkaa Vikaas, Sabkaa Vishwaas” of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
On this occasion, the centre has prepared itself for distribution of 46 nos. of wheel chairs, 80 nos. of tricycles, 64 nos. of crutches, 40 nos. of smart phones, 2 nos. of sewing machines, 2 nos. of laptops and 2 nos. of mobile repairing kits amongst Divysngjan following social distancing norms and provide necessary rehabilitation services to needy Divyangjan.
This centre shall operate as an extended arm of Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training & Research, Cuttack, Odisha.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 219.21 Cr
Over 4.11 Cr 1st dose vaccines administered for age group 12-14 years
India's Active caseload currently stands at 26,583
2,678 new cases reported in the last 24 hours
Recovery Rate currently stands at 98.76%
Weekly Positivity Rate is presently at 1.07%
India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 219.21 Cr  as per provisional reports till 7 am today.
COVID-19 vaccination for the age group 12-14 years was started on 16 March, 2022. So far, more than 4.11 Cr  adolescents have been administered with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Similarly, the COVID-19 precaution dose administration for age group 18-59 years also started from 10th April, 2022 onwards.
The break-up of the cumulative figure as per the provisional report till 7 am today include
|
|
Cumulative Vaccine Dose Coverage
|
|
HCWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
10415300
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
10119883
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
7052667
|
|
FLWs
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
18436999
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
17718299
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
13708221
|
|
Age Group 12-14 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
41119125
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
32057550
|
|
Age Group 15-18 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
61978379
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
53214174
|
|
Age Group 18-44 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
561361918
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
516099894
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
98865720
|
|
Age Group 45-59 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
204041587
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
197032110
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
50044658
|
|
Over 60 years
|
|
1st Dose
|
|
127676571
|
|
2nd Dose
|
|
123189466
|
|
Precaution Dose
|
|
48000723
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|
Precaution Dose
|
|
21,76,71,989
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|
Total
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|
2,19,21,33,244
India’s Active Caseload currently stands at 26,583. Active cases now constitute 0.06% of the country's total Positive Cases.
Consequently, India’s recovery rate stands at 98.76%. 2,594 patients have recovered in the last 24 hours and the cumulative tally of recovered patients  is now at 4,40,68,557.
2,678 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours.
The last 24 hours saw a total of 2,37,952 COVID-19 tests being conducted. India has so far conducted over 89.81 Cr  cumulative tests.
Weekly Positivity Rate in the country currently stands at 1.07% and the Daily Positivity rate is reported to be 1.13%.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs
High Level Committee on CSR recommends CSR expenditure to be made tax deductible expenditure
Shri Injeti Srinivas, Secretary , today presented the Report of the High Level Committee on CSR to the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
The Committee has made far reaching recommendations. The main recommendations include, making CSR expenditure tax deductible, provision for carry forward of unspent balance for a period of 3 – 5 years, aligning Schedule 7 with the SDGs by adopting a SDG plus framework , balancing local area preferences with national priorities, introducing impact assessment studies for CSR obligation of 5 crore or more, and registration of implementation agencies on MCA portal. The other recommendations include developing a CSR exchange portal to connect contributors, beneficiaries and agencies, allowing CSR in social benefit bonds, promoting social impact companies, and third party assessment of major CSR projects.
The Committee has emphasized on not treating CSR as a means of resource gap funding for government schemes. The Committee discourages passive contribution of CSR into different funds included in Schedule VII of the Act. It has emphasized on CSR spending as a board driven process to provide innovative technology based solutions for social problems. The Committee has also recommended that companies having CSR prescribed amount below Rs. 50 lakh may be exempted from constituting a CSR Committee. The Committee has also recommended that violation of CSR compliance may be made a civil offence and shifted to the penalty regime.
The High Level Committee on CSR was constituted in October, 2018 under the Chairmanship of Secretary  to review the existing CSR framework and make recommendations on strengthening the CSR ecosystem, including monitoring implementation and evaluation of outcomes. The Members of the Committee included Shri Sameer Sharma, DG & CEO, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Dr. A.K. Mittal, former CMD, NBCC, Shri N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons, Shri Amit Chandra, MD, Bain Capital Private Equity, Shri B.S. Narasimha, former Addl. Solicitor General of India, Shri Rajeev Luthra, Founder & MD, Luthra and Luthra Law Office, Smt. Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo, Prof. Anil Gupta, Founder, Honey Bee Network and Professor, IIM, Ahmedabad, Dr. Narinder Dhruv Batra, President, Indian Olympic Association, Shri S. Santhanakrishnan. Chartered Accountant, and Shri Mathew Cherian, CEO, Helpage India. Shri Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, was the Member and Convener.
The full report has been uploaded in the MCA Website.
Ministry of Railways
MISSION 25 TONNE
Three new wagons  have been designed with 25T axle load, which are having approximately 12% to 17% increase in carrying capacity over equivalent lesser axle load  wagons.
Further, in four wagons  axle load has been increased to 25T resulting in increased carrying capacity of approximately 12% to 14% over earlier lesser axle load  wagons.
In order to boost investment from industry in development of additional terminals for handling rail cargo, a new ‘Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal ’ policy has been launched on 15.12.2021 and the target is to commission 100 Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals  within the next three financial years, i.e. 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. These terminals will be constructed on non Railway land, as well as partially or fully on Railway land.
The location of GCTs is being decided on the basis of demand from industry and potential of Cargo Traffic. So far, approximately 71 locations have been provisionally identified for development of GCTs, and some of the locations may be added/removed at a later stage as per the response from concerned parties.
The layout of these terminals will be decided by the concerned parties depending on the expected quantum of traffic, type of consignment and availability of space etc.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Tourism
Promotion of Tourism in the Country and Overseas
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has two schemes for the promotion of Tourism. These are:
- Domestic Promotion and Publicity including Hospitality for promotion of Domestic Tourism.
- Restructured Scheme of Overseas Promotion and Publicity including Marketing Development Assistance to promote Indian tourism in Overseas Markets.
Under these schemes, the Ministry of Tourism, as part of its on-going activities, annually releases print, electronic, online and outdoor media campaigns in the international and domestic markets, under the Incredible India brand-line, to promote various tourism destinations and products of the country. Promotions are also undertaken through the Social Media accounts and website of the Ministry. In addition, the Indiatourism Offices in India and overseas disseminate information and undertake various promotional activities with the objective of showcasing the varied tourist destinations and products of the country.
This information was given by the Minister of State  of Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Tourism, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Home Affairs
More than 28,000 nominations received for Padma Awards – 2019, process open till 15th September
The last date for online nominations/recommendations for the Padma Awards to be announced on the occasion of Republic Day, 2019 is September 15, 2018. Already more than 28,260 Registrations have been made on the website, out of which 28,212 nominations/recommendations completed since the nominations opened on 1st May, 2018.
Nominations have been invited from Central Ministries/Departments, States/UT Governments, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, Institutes of Excellence as also from several other sources to enable broadbased consideration. The MHA communication dated April 25, 2018 requested them to make concerted efforts in identifying talented persons whose excellence and achievements really deserve to be recognized, and make suitable nominations in their favour.
The nominations/recommendations for the Padma Awards are being received online only on the Padma portal www.padmaawards.gov.in. All citizens can make nominations/recommendation including self-nomination. The nominations/recommendations should contain all relevant details specified in the format available on the above said website, including a citation in narrative form , clearly bringing out the distinguished and exceptional achievements/service of the person recommended in her/his respective field/discipline. While recommending a person online, it should be ensured that all the necessary details are filled properly.
The Padma Awards, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, are amongst the highest civilian awards of the country. Instituted in 1954, these Awards are announced on the occasion of the Republic Day every year. The award seeks to recognize ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields/disciplines, such as, Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry etc.
All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these Awards. Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field.
The MHA communication requested that efforts may be made to identify talented persons from amongst women, weaker sections of the society, SCs & STs, divyang persons, etc., who deserve to be considered for the award. Government servants including those working with PSUs, except Doctors and Scientists, are not eligible for Padma Awards.
For further details click 'Awards and Medals' on the Union Home Ministry's website: www.mha.gov.in. The statutes and rules relating to these awards are available on the Union Home Ministry's website with the link http://padmaawards.gov.in/SelectionGuidelines.aspx
Competition Commission of India
Competition Commission of India organises virtual Workshop of BRICS Competition Agencies on Competition Issues in Automotive Sector
The Competition Commission of India , organised a virtual workshop of BRICS Competition Agencies on “Competition Issues in Automotive Sector” during 05-06 November 2020. The CCI is the project co-lead of the Automotive Working Group  along with Competition Commission, South Africa. The Workshop was declared open by the Chairperson CCI, Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta in the presence of Members of the Commission, Smt. Sangeeta Verma and Shri Bhagwant Singh Bishnoi. The Workshop was attended by senior officers of BRICS Competition Agencies.
Earlier, BRICS Competition Agencies had signed a Memorandum of Understanding  on co-operation in the field of competition law and policy in May 2016  to enhance co-operation and interaction inter se. In accordance with this MoU, four Working Groups had been constituted on important industries/ sectors viz Pharmaceuticals, Food, Automotive and Digital Markets. These Working Groups have collaborated with each other to adopt best practices. The present Workshop was held amongst the AWG.
Chairperson CCI, Shri Ashok Kumar Gupta, in his opening remarks stressed upon the importance and growth of the automobile sector in developing countries, especially the BRICS nations. He mentioned that the presence of numerous Original Equipment Manufacturers  within BRICS, due to existing congenial factors for production and assembly plants, makes such market a favorite destination for leading OEMs to tap enormous potential. The Chairperson suggested that the market regulators certainly do not want to be the speed bumps in the way of this industry but on the other hand have to be pro-active to flag competition concerns, that simply cannot be ignored. He mentioned that a plausible common solution, may emerge due to the presence of most of the global automobile players in BRICS jurisdiction, thereby focusing on common approaches and standardisation. He highlighted the imperative need to discuss and reflect on the emerging issues, including relating to big data, in this sector.
The Workshop was also addressed by Secretary CCI, Smt. Jyoti Jindgar Bhanot with her welcome remarks. Thereafter, representatives of BRICS Competition Agencies made presentations highlighting the key developments in the automotive sector in their respective jurisdictions. Challenges, arising out of new age digital economy, were also deliberated. During the Workshop, common issues which all BRICS nations are facing, emerged and the way forward to tackle such issues including the importance of advocacy was also debated.
Ministry of Development of North-East Region
NE Region has received adequate funds from the Centre to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic effectively: DrJitendra Singh
Union Minister of State  Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that adequate funds were made available to the NE region to fight COVID-19. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha today, DrJitendra Singh informed that Ministry of Health & Family Welfare released Rs.111.34 crore to the North Eastern  Statesduring 2019-20, which includes Rs.72.53 crore for Assam under National Health Mission towards management and containment of COVID-19 pandemic. Further, during F.Y. 2020-21, Rs.265.96 crore was released to the NE States, which includes Rs.180.04 crore for Assam under the India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package.
In addition, Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region under North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme  has sanctioned five projects worth Rs.193.32 crore in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland for strengthening health infrastructure to contain pandemic COVID-19.Against these projects, Rs.77.33 crore have been released by the Ministry to the State Governments.
Further, during 2020-21 North Eastern Council  sanctioned Rs.25.29 crore to help eightstates of North EasternRegion  for fighting COVID-19 pandemic.NEC also sanctioned a sum of Rs.24.96 crore toward livelihood generation for returned migrant workers of NER due to the pandemic.Projects sanctioned for strengthening health infrastructure of NE States for fighting pandemic COVID-19 are at various stages of implementation. The utilization certificates against the funds released by the Ministry of DoNERare not yet due.
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SNC
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Competition Commission of India
CCI approves acquisition of stake in Apraava Energy Private Limited by CDPQ Infrastructures Asia II Pte. Ltd.
The Competition Commission of India  approves acquisition of stake in Apraava Energy Private Limited  by CDPQ Infrastructures Asia II Pte. Ltd.  under Section 31 of the Competition Act, 2002.
The Proposed Combination pertains to the acquiring an additional 10% shareholding in the Target from CPL GPEC  Holding Limited. The Acquirer presently holds 40% shareholding in the Target.
The Acquirer is incorporated in Singapore and is a direct and wholly owned subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, a long-term institutional investor with net assets of approximately CAD 420 billion invested globally that manages funds primarily for public and para-public pension and insurance plans.
The Target is a foreign investment in the Indian power sector with an investment spread across renewable energy , transmission, supercritical coal and gas fired generation. The Target entered the country in 2002 and has since expanded its portfolio of operating conventional and renewable assets.
Detailed order of the CCI will follow.